


Waited My Whole Life for This One Night

by LittleLostPieces



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-19
Updated: 2013-10-19
Packaged: 2017-12-29 20:55:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1010004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleLostPieces/pseuds/LittleLostPieces
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been said that patience is a virtue.  Harry is sure that the person who came up with that cliche never spent eighteen hours waiting for the birth of their first child.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Waited My Whole Life for This One Night

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [Waited My Whole Life for This One Night](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1852924) by [orphan_account](https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account)



> Admittedly, this is complete self-indulgence inspired by the birth of my newest nephew. I took the actual timeline from the texts my family sent back and forth that day, but I have taken so many liberties with the details (and possibly with actual reality) from there. 
> 
> Title comes from _Forever_ by Chris Brown, which pains me but the lyrics were the first to pop into my head and they seemed more fitting than anything else I could come up with. (Titles give me so much stress!)

On any normal day, the alarm ringing in Harry's ear at five in the morning would be annoying. If he's honest, it would be more than annoying. On a normal day, he would smack the alarm, possibly throw it across the room, mumble something rude and angry into his pillow, and bury his face in Louis’ neck for another ten to twenty minutes, at least.

Today is not a normal day.

This morning, when the alarm goes off at five, Harry stretches lazily and then leans against the bed to blink the sleep from his eyes for only a moment. He still smacks at the alarm, but there is no snooze function on this day. There's also no Louis to nudge his face against because Louis has already been up for an hour, banging around the kitchen, intermittently cursing the kettle and singing too loudly for four o'clock. Harry can't fault him.

Today, they’ll meet their son for the first time.

Rolling out of the bed with more pep than anyone should have after only a few hours of fitful, excited sleep, Harry ambles toward the bathroom and thinks about the path they've taken to get to this day, this crazy early hour, this monumental moment.

The conversation started ages ago, really, when they were far too young to be discussing something as important as building a family together. Even when their mothers rolled their eyes or laughed it off as childish fantasy, Harry and Louis knew that they were always headed here.

Three years ago, Louis brought it up again in earnest and Harry never hesitated to enthusiastically agree that it was time. They'd been together for six years at that point, finished school, matured (somewhat) and settled into each other, into their own house and their own routine, so this was the obvious next step. 

Louis' mom offered to hand over a couple of her own children, just to make things easier, but that option was quickly laughed off of the table in the same spirit in which it was offered. They discussed surrogacy for a time – it worked beautifully for Zayn and Liam, they reasoned – but ultimately decided that adoption was a better route for them.

Harry hadn't known then what an arduous and complicated process it would be. Deciding what type of adoption was best for them turned into an affair on its own – open, closed, domestic, international, infant, or child – and once they'd made their wishlists and matched them up, he assumed they could just put in an order and be given what they wanted, like a takeaway lunch on a thirty minute break from work or something. He laughs now when he thinks of how naïve he'd been then.

It was Harry's sister who dropped the final answer to all of their questions into their laps. A friend of hers from uni, Maddie, had just found out she was expecting, was terrified and absolutely certain that she didn't want a child of her own to raise just yet, but was struggling with the idea of terminating the pregnancy all together. When asked if she would consider meeting with Harry and Louis, discussing the possibility of a private, open adoption, Maddie agreed immediately.

During the last nine months, they've not missed a doctor's appointment or birthing class, have attended four baby showers – they're not Louis' favorite, but Harry can't get enough of them – and have spent countless hours painting and prepping a nursery in what used to be the spare room. To think that their son is going to sleep in the room where Niall and Louis used to pass out after parties gives Harry pause and a bit of a laugh. Their lives have changed so much already. If he thinks about how much more they’re in for after today, he might collapse..

By the time he's finished showering and dressing in comfortable, presentable clothes, Louis is pacing the kitchen while drinking from what is very clearly not his first cup of tea. His hair is still jutting out from his head in every direction and Harry pauses in the kitchen doorway just to watch the guy he's so goddamn in love with muttering to himself as he walks from hob to the sink and back again.

“You're gonna wear a trench in the floor,” Harry finally says, smiling when Louis stops to flip him off, bottom lip worried between his teeth.

“It's about time you rolled out of bed, goddammit,” Louis shoots back, sipping loudly and obnoxiously from his mug. “Not like today's that important or anything.”

The clock on the microwave says it's only a quarter past five. “I've been up for fifteen whole minutes, love. Had a shower and everything.”

“Oh, gettin' fancy for our lad, are ya?” Louis teases as he shuffles over to where Harry is still standing. “Don't think he'll be bothered by your matching socks, frankly.”

Harry just wraps an arm around Louis and rubs the line of his spine over the soft cotton of his shirt. “Well, I thought one dad with crazy, unwashed hair was enough really.”

Gasping and pulling away to smack a hand against Harry's arm, Louis feigns morbid offense. “I need to shower,” he says suddenly, eyes darting to the clock and back. “Do I have time to shower? Have I wasted all of my time puttering around the kitchen?”

But Harry shakes his head as calmly as he can and pinches Louis' side. “Just don't spend too much time fiddling with your knob and we should be fine.”

Louis growls and swats at Harry before stumbling out of the room. 

Maddie’s labor will be induced at six, but the hospital is only a few minutes away at this time of day. She’s not just allowing them to be by her side for everything, she requested that they be. Harry doesn't actually know what they're supposed to do, no matter how many times Louis' mother has gone over procedures and possibilities with them. He only really remembers one thing she's said about it: _She's the one doing all the work, she and the doctors. You two just be there for her and you'll be fine._

As Louis shouts an off-key rendition of some song Harry vaguely recognizes, he chuckles to himself and sets about preparing two travel cups of tea. He can be there, he can. He's done it with Louis for years now.

*

Everyone has said it - _just because they induce labor at six, it doesn't mean you'll have a baby by seven_ \- but Harry didn't actually believe them. In his mind, they were going to show up, barely have time to settle in to the birthing suite, and then they'd have a beautiful, baby boy to coo and cry over. 

By quarter past seven, he’s ready to string Louis to the ceiling by his toes. He's already wandered every hall in the building and is now tapping his foot to some silent rhythm in the corner, twisting his fingers together and bouncing his knees like that's not annoying everyone in the room. 

“Louis,” Harry starts, still calm and collected though he'd like to cross the room and shake Louis a bit.

Louis doesn't stop moving, doesn't even seem to notice he's doing it when he looks at Harry with wide eyes. “What?”

Maddie laughs from the bed and Harry just shakes his head and joins her because, really, what else is going to do? He'd feel awful if starting a fight is what sent her into labor, would always wonder if that had some kind of adverse affect on the baby or something, even though he's fairly certain it wouldn't. Though he's heard a lot of things about pregnancy in the last few months that he never would have believed if every woman in his life didn't verify them, so what does Harry really know anyway?

*

The doctor returns from delivering another baby at half eight, breaks Maddie's water, and then leaves with a promise to check in again soon. 

“I'm starving,” Louis announces as soon as they're alone again.

“Join the club,” Maddie says, rolling her eyes toward the ceiling and pouting a bit.

There are a lot of wires and cords wrapped around her, more than Harry thinks should be necessary. The doctor explained that they were all absolutely essential, but Harry isn't sure why they need to monitor her blood pressure internally _and_ externally. She never mentioned having issues with it before, though he never specifically thought to ask. There's a monitor on her stomach, tracking the baby's vitals, as well as something wrapped around her ankle and taped to the bottom of her foot. If he saw it in a film, Harry would think that this woman was at risk of something horrible happening to her. To be honest, he also kind of thinks that in reality, but he doesn't want to worry anyone by voicing it aloud or anything.

She hasn't been allowed to eat since last night, has only been drinking water since they arrived, and Harry feels for her. He'd love nothing more than to volunteer to run out and get food, but eating in front of her seems cruel. He doesn't want to do anything to piss her off at this point. Or ever, really, since Harry doesn't love pissing people off in general.

“You should go get something,” she suggests when Louis groans and flops back in his chair. 

If he's honest, Harry was certain that Louis would handle this better out of the two of them. He's lived through the births of four sisters, was a pillar for Zayn when he was freaking out over their baby, and has spent numerous hours around kids in his lifetime. 

Of course, his patience is for shit when he’s excited, so maybe Harry should have known better than to assume. 

“Yeah, Lou,” he agrees, smiling softly when Louis wiggles in his chair as though he's about to argue. “I could really go for a bagel.”

“We can't both leave,” Louis insists, appalled at the suggestion.

It wasn't actually what Harry was implying, but he doesn't point that out. With a shrug, he says, “So bring me one when you get back.”

After another second of contemplating, Louis stands and walks over to drop a kiss on Maddie's head. “You guys call me if anything happens while I'm gone.”

“We're not going to let you miss it, dork,” she says, smiling affectionately when he pulls back. “Go. You're getting on my nerves.”

Louis smiles, trails his hand over her hair again, and then makes his way to Harry to give him a kiss as well. “I'll be back before you know it,” he promises.

“Take your time,” Harry tells him, squeezing his hand before it falls away from Harry's shoulder. He waits until Louis is gone to turn to the bed and say, “Sorry. He's just really anxious.”

Maddie shakes her head and laughs. “Kind of makes me feel better actually,” she admits with a soft shrug. “I mean, I've never thought about backing out of this thing, but knowing how badly you both want this little guy makes the decision even easier to stick to, right?”

Her hand rubs over her belly and Harry wishes, only briefly, that he could know what she's feeling there, what she's been feeling for months. He's been in love with this kid since before they knew he was a boy, since they signed the agreement in the first place, but he hasn't been carrying his own son around inside him, feeling him grow and stretch and develop, knowing that he’s going to give that part of himself away eventually. He can't imagine how he would be feeling in her shoes right now.

When he says as much, she laughs and shakes her head. “Believe me, Harry, if I had your life, if I had a Louis and I could give this kid the family that you're going to give him, it would be a much harder decision.”

*

Louis returns around nine, visibly calmer as he takes his seat beside the bed. Harry steps into the hall to eat his breakfast – a bagel and a banana, because Louis knows Harry and obviously loves him - and call his mother. They've been trading text messages all morning, but it's nice to hear her voice as he makes his way to the visitors' lounge at the end of the hall.

“Hi, baby,” his mother answers, sympathetic and loving all at once.

“Hey,” Harry greets, dropping onto the couch and staring out the window to the river waiting just beyond. “You alright? How’s things?” he asks.

She chuckles. “Oh, much more exciting than they are for you right now, I'm sure. How's Maddie doing?”

“Dilated to three, I think? Two or three, doctor says it's somewhere in between but closer to three. They want to wait until she gets to five or six before they give her an epidural, though.” The words coming out of his mouth feel like a foreign language he doesn't remember learning but understands nonetheless.

His mother hums. “Could go pretty quickly from that point. How's Louis?”

“He's fine now that he's eaten,” Harry answers, settling in his seat to peel his banana. “Maybe I should take him one of these coloring books when I head back in, though. You know how he is about waiting.” He nudges the books on the table with his toe and chuckles when his mum does. “No, he's good. He's been really encouraging and he's the first to offer his hand for every contraction. He's really good.”

“And how are you?”

That's a harder question to answer honestly. “I'm alright,” he says finally. “It's just weird, I suppose. I mean, I've known this was coming for awhile now, but it's starting to feel more real or something. Is that strange?”

“Not at all,” his mother is quick to assure him. “Darling, you're about to be a father for the first time. I'd be more worried if you _weren't_ nervous about that. It's a huge responsibility.” She pauses, sighs contentedly, and then adds, “It's also the greatest joy you'll ever know, love. You're going to be so good at it, I just know it.”

“You have to say that,” Harry tells her, wishing more than anything that she could be here right now. “You're my mum.”

“Which is why you should listen to me. I do have some experience with this sort of thing. Now get back in there, alright? But you keep me up to date on everything. I want to know what's going on at all times.”

This time, Harry snorts. “I'd be happy to update you if anything was bloody happening,” he says, allowing a bit of his frustration to seep in around the edges of his words.

His mother giggles. “Harry, this is one thing you couldn’t rush, even if you wanted to,” she reminds him. 

He knows. It just sounds disheartening when she says it out loud like that. “I love you,” he says before disconnecting the call and popping the end of his banana into his mouth. It's flavorless against his tongue, but he finishes it anyway before returning to the room once more.

*

His sister texts, _What's the news?_ around half ten.

Harry texts back, _Contractions consistently about 2 min apart, but not too strong. Dr will be in to check her again around 11. Still waiting and waiting and waiting._

She returns a quick, _Suck it up, shortcake_ , and Harry laughs.

At noon, Liam texts, _When can I see my godson?_

Harry sends him a sad-faced emoji and a simple, _I'll let you know_.

*

“I'm going to find lunch,” Louis says after the doctor checks in at one and confirms that Maddie is dilated another centimeter, but there's not been much more of a change.

“Why don't you both go?” she asks, smiling when Harry starts to shake his head. “Scope out the cafeteria for me. Come back and let me live vicariously through you.”

“But what about-,” Louis begins to protest.

“I can have a contraction without your big, strong, manly hands, you know?”

With a roll of his eyes, Harry stands, linking his fingers with Louis' as they step out of the room. “What are you in the mood for?” he asks when they approach the lift.

Louis doesn't answer until the doors are closed, shoving Harry against the wall and stuffing his fingers into Harry's curls. “You,” he breathes against Harry's mouth before quickly setting to work on his neck. 

While Harry's not one to deny Louis much of anything, especially physically inappropriate things in publicly inappropriate places, he feels himself pulling away just a bit. “Lou, we can't,” he begins to protest and then swallows hard when Louis thrusts a hand under the hem of Harry's shirt. “Louis,” he hisses.

“What?” Louis asks, pulling back just enough for Harry to see his lips, red from pressing so tightly against Harry's skin even for so short a time. “C'mon, Harry. I didn't wank in the shower. I earned this.”

Harry snorts and pushes on Louis' shoulder until he can breathe again. “Okay, first, congratulations for keeping your hands off your wang for twenty seconds. Second, you'd have had time if you hadn't spent an hour and a half making thirty cups of tea. And third,” Harry says, eyes darting around the lift conspiratorially before he whispers, “there are _babies_ here.”

Louis rolls his eyes and presses his mouth back to Harry’s neck. “I haven't seen a fucking baby all goddamn day. That's the problem.”

Alright, so he has a point. Maybe _they_ don't have a baby here yet, but they could at any minute. Harry is a huge fan of sex, especially sex with Louis, but maybe there's a time and a place for it and maybe that time and place isn't while they're in a hospital lift waiting for their son to arrive. 

Hands on Louis' shoulders, Harry tugs him close and leans in to whisper against his ear. “And what if I get down on my knees right now, yeah? And I get you all hot and hard, so full in my mouth, right?” When Louis whimpers into Harry's collar, he thinks maybe this wasn't the best idea he's ever had. It’s not exactly doing much for his own resolve, winding Louis up like this. It’s kind of the opposite really. “And then the phone rings and the baby is coming and we have to run back to the room? Then what, Louis? Jesus,” he finishes in a rush, shoving Louis back with more force than is probably necessary.

Stumbling a few steps and crossing his arms as the lift dings at the first floor, Louis glares. “I have never hated you more than I do right now.”

He storms out of the lift and Harry takes a moment to breathe, collect himself, and inwardly pat himself on the back for the way Louis is shifting as he walks. Serves him right, Harry thinks.

*

 

When they've finished eating in relative silence – Louis' still pouting, no matter how often he insists that he's not – they decide to take the back stairwell up to the room. Harry texts his mum to inform her that it's been more of the same for the last few hours, and then he concentrates on staring at Louis' ass while he climbs the next flight of stairs.

On the fourth floor landing, Louis stops short and leans against the railing. “I'm scared,” he says, apropos of nothing.

Harry pulls up beside him and hoists himself onto the railing. “Don't worry, Lou. The doctors say it's nothing unusual. Our expectations were unrealistic is all.”

But Louis shakes his head and stares at his shoes. “Not about how long it's taking. I'm unhappy about that, but I'm not scared of it.” 

Oh. It would have been better if he _had_ been scared of that, Harry thinks. He doesn't need further explanation to know exactly what Louis means. “You're going to be a great father. You know that, don't you? I mean, you're so good with your sisters and with every other kid we know. You've got this, Lou.”

Louis just huffs. “I have zero patience. I've spent the entire day internally cursing this kid for not getting the fuck out of the womb.” He cringes and then smiles a bit when he adds, “I obviously swear too much. I'm too loud. I was stoned with Zayn two nights ago. I am the worst role model in history.”

“Hey,” Harry interrupts, tugging on the sleeve of Louis' jumper until he turns his face toward Harry. “Come here.”

Louis does so willingly, stepping into the V between Harry's legs and resting his hands on Harry's thighs. “What are we doin', Hazza?” he asks, voice so small and fragile that it nearly breaks Harry.

“We're having a baby,” he answers easily, resting his forehead against Louis'. “And it's supposed to be scary. If we didn't care about messing him up, we wouldn't be so nervous, but we're going to be fine. And don't tell me you don't have patience because you've spent the last _ten years_ pulling Liam out of his shell. Even I can't be bothered to do that. You don't swear in front of your sisters, and so fucking what if you do in front of our son?” he asks with his cheekiest grin. “He's going to grow up knowing Niall, so he's bound to learn a few things even we don't know.”

Louis does laugh at that, sniffling a bit though there are no tears to dry. “Fuck, Niall's going to ruin him.”

Chuckling, Harry nods and revels in the feeling of Louis' face against his like this. “Also, I know you can be quiet when you need to,” he whispers into the limited space between them. He gives Louis' bum a squeeze to illustrate his point and laughs a little too loudly when Louis' eyebrows furrow. “And if I'm not mistaken, Zayn already has a kid of his own and that hasn't stopped him from kicking back with you on occasion.”

“You just have an answer for everything, huh?”

Harry nods, kissing the thin skin beneath Louis' eye before he says, “There is no one on this entire planet I would rather have a baby with, Louis. No one. This kid has no idea how lucky he's about to be.”

This time, when Louis slides his hand up into Harry's hair, Harry doesn't protest. Maybe they both need a distraction. Maybe that’s what Louis was trying to tell him back in the lift. So instead of arguing, he opens his mouth willingly, letting Louis take his time to explore every inch with his tongue, mapping it like he knows every point and attraction. He whimpers when Louis licks across the roof, moans when he slides under Harry's own tongue, and gasps for air when he finally pulls back enough to let them both catch a breath.

“We should get back,” Louis whispers against Harry's neck.

This time, it's Harry that growls, his head falling back to expose the length of his throat. He nearly falls off the railing when Louis bites at his collarbone. “This is payback, isn't it?”

Pulling away with a smack to Harry's thigh, Louis just laughs and begins running up the next flight of stairs.

*

The doctor orders the epidural at half two, but by the time they administer it and it begins to work, it's nearing four o'clock. 

They wait until Maddie's dozing, finally comfortable as the pain subsides, to fight over the remote and then compromise by turning the telly off and playing an absolutely shit card game that Louis makes up as they go. Harry is ready to throttle him again when the doctor pops in around five.

“Is there anything we can do to speed this up?” Louis asks him as he checks the monitors and the attachment of all the wires. 

With a warm smile, the doctor asks, “Why? You lads have somewhere more important to be?”

Harry just laughs as Louis rolls his eyes and flops onto the couch at the far end of the room. 

“This is normal, right? I mean, eleven hours is alright?” Harry asks as the doctor is setting the chart back into the slot at the end of the bed.

Tucking his hands into the pockets of his coat, the doctor turns the full force of what is probably supposed to be his most reassuring smile on Harry. “It's normal. Some women go more than twenty-four hours.” Louis growls, though he keeps his eyes closed. “My girlfriend was in labor for sixteen with our first.”

Harry just shakes his head. “What did you do? How did you keep from crawling out of your skin?”

“I studied,” the doctor says. “I was in school at the time and, whilst she slept, the room was far quieter than even our campus library, so I camped out at the table and crammed for an exam.”

“This may be the first time I've ever been sorry I'm not in school,” Harry answers and the doctor just laughs as he leaves again.

*

At quarter to eight, she's dilated to nine and a half centimeters, but the doctor isn't comfortable with having her push yet. 

He returns at nine forty and quarter past ten. There's still no change.

*

Harry is eating another banana, flipping through photos on his phone, when the nurse pages the doctor.

“What's going on?” Louis asks, spine straight and stiff as he throws his magazine onto the table and starts to stand.

The nurse just shakes her head. “Bit of a fever. Nothing too high. Probably just the strain of a long labor is all,” she says, patting Maddie's arm with a fond, maternal smile. “How are you feeling, love?”

Her response is a snort. “I've been better,” she answers sarcastically and Harry can't help grinning. 

She's been a real trouper all day, her wit and humor high as she’s battled varying bouts of nausea and frustration. She's not in pain anymore, but she's certainly not relaxed. Though he's been impatient himself, Harry doesn't even try to ponder whether he could handle being in her position.

It's almost irritating, the way the doctor breezes in, calm and collected like this is just any other patient on any other day.

“How's her blood pressure?” he asks, checking the monitor before the nurse can even answer. He seems mildly satisfied with what he finds there before he says, “Give her a thousand milligrams of paracetamol and we'll check back in about a half an hour, alright?”

With another pat of Maddie's foot, he's gone again.

The nurse leaves for a moment and Louis sinks into the bedside chair he's claimed as his own. “Wouldn't it be easier to say a gram instead of a thousand milligrams?” he muses, shaking his head and turning his attention to Maddie. “How are you feeling really?” he asks in a soft voice that has Harry's chest squeezing in response. He always cares so much more than he's willing to let on, Louis does.

“I'm good,” she assures him, nodding and slipping her hand into his. “I'm ready to be done with this, but I really do feel alright. Thank you for asking.”

He brushes her hair away from her forehead and presses a kiss to her cheek. “Thank you for putting yourself through all of this hell for us.”

For a brief moment, Harry wonders if Louis even remembers that Harry is sitting over here, but he figures it doesn't much matter. The nurse returns before he can ask anyway, bustling about to administer the medication.

*

The decision to perform a Cesarean is made around eleven thirty-five. The doctor thinks it's best since there has been no change in more than three hours and the medication is doing nothing for the fever. Apparently, there is a possibility that Maddie might have some sort of infection and they want to proceed before they risk anymore complications.

She agrees immediately, her eyes wide as the physicians leave to make their final plans. 

“Sorry, I didn't think to ask you before I said yes,” she apologizes when they're alone.

Louis only shakes his head, but Harry walks to the other side of the bed and grabs her free hand. “That was one hundred percent your call to make, not ours,” he assures her.

There are tiny beads of sweat forming above her lip, her eyes darting between them and the bump, the baby still waiting as long as they have been. Her fingers are trembling against Harry's, so he catches Louis' eye and asks, “Will you hand me the book we brought?” he asks.

Louis obliges easily, grabbing the bag they've been packing for the last month, or maybe four, and pulling a large picture book from it. 

Harry places it on the bed at her side and flips it open, resting his hand on her stomach as he begins to read. “Mr. and Mrs. Brown first met Paddington on a railway platform. In fact, that was how he came to have such an unusual name for a bear, for Paddington was the name of the station.”

He stops when Maddie sniffles and rests her hand atop his head. “This was my favorite book when I was little,” she explains.

With a knowing glint, Harry meets Louis' eyes and says, “See?”

Louis just huffs. “I voted for _Peter Pan_ , but he was afraid Captain Hook would be too scary,” he teases, raising one pointed eyebrow at Harry when he adds, “for a child who doesn't even understand spoken language yet.”

“Shh,” Harry hisses, finger to his lips. “I'm reading.”

His intention was to open the book _after_ the baby is born, but he figures a distraction is needed now. If Paddington keeps her mind off of the impending surgery and his own off the fact that this is actually happening very soon now, he'll read it twenty times before the birth.

*

“I'm not going to see him after,” Maddie announces as the nurses are detaching her monitors and preparing to wheel her from the birthing suite.

“What?” Louis asks dumbly.

Harry wraps his arm around Louis' waist as they stand together at her bedside. “You don't have to-,” Harry starts.

There are tears in her eyes when she catches her bottom lip between her teeth and breathes deeply. “I've thought about it for ages now,” she admits, her voice cracking on the words. “You're his parents. You should be the first, the only, ones he knows. I want you to be.”

Louis bends at his waist and presses a kiss to her forehead. “You're my hero, did you know?” he asks her as sincerely as the first time he told Harry that he loved him. Well, as sincerely as the second time anyway.

He takes a step back to allow Harry room. “If you ever change your mind,” he starts, but leaves the offer there because she already knows and he's choking on the rest of his words. “Thank you.”

Her eyes glisten when she offers him a smile and raises her hand to her cheek. “Gem was right about you, little Harry. I’m confident this is the best for all of us,” is all she says before the nurses begin to push her from the room.

At the door, one of them turns back and smiles. “Well, are you going to stand there all night or are you going to come watch your son enter the world?”

*

Harry has seen some things in his time, some rather crazy things.

He's never seen anything like the birth of a child.

*

Once Maddie is comfortably in recovery, Harry and Louis are shown to another room in order to wait while the doctors clean the baby up and check all of his vitals. It's uncommon, but so is their situation.

“We should have thought of a name before now,” Louis says.

He hasn't stopped pacing since the nurse showed them to the room, but Harry isn't begrudging him the nerves at this point. They're minutes away from meeting their son, holding him for the first time, and Harry thinks he could throw up at any moment. 

“We did,” he says, standing and moving toward Louis. “We thought of a whole list. Our friends helped.”

Louis stops when Harry rests a hand on his shoulder. “I don't care what Liam says, Batman is not a suitable name for a child.”

Something in Harry's chest breaks loose, his head falling back as he barks a laugh too loud for the stillness of the room. It's over. The waiting is over and their son is here. Holy shit, they have a son.

A soft knock at the door precedes the appearance of a small cart, a bassinet by the most technical definition. “Are you ready?” the nurse asks as she allows the door to close quietly behind her. 

_Are you ready?_ It is, as they say, the million dollar question. Ninety-eight percent of Harry's brain screams _not even a little bit_ in response, but the other two percent is even louder. For all of the fear, the waiting and the nerves that have come as a result, he's absolutely more ready than he has ever been for anything.

“Why don't you have a seat on the bed,” the nurse suggests, waiting for them to do so as she bends over the bassinet and pulls a soft lump of blankets from it. “Alright now,” she says, lowering the bundle into Louis' waiting arms. “Just watch the,” she begins and then smiles when Louis eases the baby into his grasp, cradling him more gently than Harry has ever seen him hold anything. “You don't need any instructions at all, do you? You're quite the natural at this.”

Louis smiles, but it has nothing to do with the nurse at all. His eyes are fixed on the tiny, swollen face peeking out from the edges of the green and white striped blanket. “Hi, there,” he whispers, pulling at the edges of the blanket to reveal the baby's face. “Hi, son. I’m your dad.”

Harry is vaguely aware of the door opening and closing again quietly, but he's too busy blinking the tears out of his own eyes to worry about the nurse or anyone else. The sight of Louis, vulnerable and open in a way even Harry has never seen him, is breathtaking.

Louis raises one hand to brush his knuckle over the bridge of the baby's nose and smiles when he twitches at the touch. “You're so, so beautiful,” Louis breathes, awe evident in his tone. He dips his head and brushes the barest hint of a kiss to the baby's forehead, just beneath the edge of his little hat, following the path of his lips with the point of his nose. “You are so loved, little lad,” his adds, punctuating the statement with another kiss.

The tears are impossible to hold at bay as Harry watches them, mesmerized by this child's ability to crash through every wall Louis has ever built as though it was never there in the first place. 

“And you're lucky, too,” Louis tells him, straightening up a bit to lean his shoulder into Harry. “Because this guy over here has the biggest heart of anyone I have ever met, and he's your dad, too. He'll love you as much as he embarrasses you, and believe me, he's going to embarrass you so much someday.”

“Hey,” Harry protests with a pinch to Louis' side.

Catching his tongue between his teeth, Louis grins at Harry and nods toward his arms. “Come on, then,” he says, his tone still so painfully tender. “Get those boat hands up here and hold your son.”

Though he rolls his eyes and sniffles the last of his tears away, Harry does as he's told. When Louis places him into Harry's arms, Harry knows for sure that he's never felt anything close to this. It is, quite literally, indescribable.

The silence stretches out for awhile, Harry struggling to find the right words to introduce himself to this boy he's now in charge of caring for, nurturing, and raising. He's a person, a real, living, breathing, tiny, human person.

This boy's mother thought Harry and Louis should be trusted with him. The law has stated as much. Their families and friends assure them, without any visible doubt, that they're up for the task. As Harry looks into his round face, though, he can't imagine why. There is no one he can think of, not one single person, who is good enough for this perfect, perfect child.

The reality of this entire thing settles over Harry like a heavy, woolen blanket and he inhales sharply, another round of tears struggling to break free. He's not sure he'll be able to stop them this time.

And then the baby opens his eyes. 

As far as Harry knows, as far as he has been a witness, his face is the first this kid has seen. Absurdly, Harry thinks that he wishes he was better rested. It hardly seems fair that his son's first sight out of the womb should be the bags under Harry's eyes, the tears, and the mess his hair must be after spending all day running his fingers through it. He laughs then, partially at his own stupidity but more from the palpable connection he can feel without ever having said a single word. 

“Can I just say that I'm feeling a bit left out right now,” Louis pouts, his chin poking into Harry's shoulder as he leans in to position himself in the baby's line of vision.

Hilariously, his eyes close immediately.

“He's already got your terrible sense of humor,” Louis says with a derisive snort.

The baby sighs and settles again, content. When Harry runs a finger over his cheek, the baby nuzzles into the touch. 

“I read on a website about a new mom who said she had a panic attack the first time they took her daughter back to the nursery after she was born. She said the separation felt like death, and I thought that must have been the hormones talking, right?” Harry says, physically unable to tear his eyes away for even a second. “I think maybe it wasn't that at all, though.”

Louis just hums an agreement, reaching for the end of the blanket. Once he's unveiled five little toes, he strokes the tip of his finger over the arch of the baby's foot. “I reckon you were worth the wait, Kid,” he says.

Resting his cheek on the top of Louis' head, Harry says, “We're a family now.”

With another hum, Louis shifts around and leans back in the bed. He reaches out and Harry places the baby in his arms, eyes following him all the way to Louis' chest. His heart constricts and then pounds like an explosion when the baby curls into Louis' neck and nuzzles his face against the side of Louis' throat. It's the exact opposite spot that Harry normally cuddles after he hits the snooze in the morning, as if the baby already knows that the best place in the world to sleep is right there with Louis.

“We were already a family, love,” Louis reminds him, turning his face to catch Harry's eye. He holds his free arm out and brings Harry into his space, cuddling both of his boys close. “It’s just that one of us took his sweet time showing up, didn’t you?” he teases with a loving whisper on the baby’s head.

Suddenly exhausted, Harry bites back any response he might have had a second ago, and releases a breath it feels as though he's been holding all day. He still needs to send pictures to their mums and sisters. It would be nice if they came up with an actual name for their son, as well. For now, though, Harry is content to just lie here, in the safety of his own family, for a little while longer.

**Author's Note:**

> Hit me up on [tumblr](http://littlelostpieces.tumblr.com/) if you want.


End file.
